


Smile

by Rei_the_Rat



Category: One Piece
Genre: Gen, Mother Sea Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 21:09:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21288221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rei_the_Rat/pseuds/Rei_the_Rat
Summary: A dream, a memory, of days long ago when life was simple and a little less painful.
Relationships: Eustass Kid & Killer
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	Smile

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for Killer and Kid for Mother Sea, a free fan-made zine dedicated to the many backstories and pasts to some of our favorite One Piece characters. It's digital only and free to download. You can find it here on [tumblr](https://mothersea-zine.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/mothersea_zine). Go check it out and see all the other amazing work that was contributed to it!  
Thank you to the lovely [Shishiswordsman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shishiswordsman) and the darling [Omu](https://twitter.com/Yumenomu) who helped me out with this fic <3

The cold was starting to numb his senses. Sounds in the distance were hollow and echoed, and he could no longer smell or taste the blood and rust around him. Only the pain, dragging him down and piercing his heart, was prominent over all else. And when he opened his eyes, shapes and colors hidden by a haze, taunting him with promises and lies.

_ Kid, you can’t keep picking a fight with everyone. _

“Shut up…”

His voice was nothing more than a harsh whisper. He closed his eyes and fell below the darkness again.

\-----

An ointment coated rag pressed against the open gash on Kid’s shoulder. Its sting made him flinch, but the strong hand on his side stopped him from going anywhere.

“Kid, you can’t keep picking a fight with everyone.” Killer sighed as he moved to clean the cut under Kid’s jaw.

He jerked back and swatted Killer’s hand away. “Shut up! I won, didn’t I?”

Killer paused, his expression calm and passive as ever. “Did you?” The question wasn’t mocking or dismissive. If anyone else had asked, Kid would’ve punched them. Or tried to at least. But Killer’s tone held something Kid didn’t know the name of yet.

He dug into his pocket and retrieved the money pouch he’d taken as reward. He was the one who walked away, he was the one with the prize at the end. He was the victor. “Of course I won.” 

Behind Killer’s bangs, his eyes widened. Kid pushed the pouch into Killer’s hands, barely noticing how shakey they were.

Killer stared for a moment before placing it off to the side. He went back to cleaning up Kid’s cuts and scrapes without another word. When the last one was bandaged and covered, he pocketed the money and gently pushed Kid toward their room. “Go get some rest. I’ll wake you for dinner.”

The smell and sound of sizzling vegetables roused Kid from his nap. He was decisively less sore than he had been when he went to sleep, though the spots Killer put the ointment on still stung. Still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he made his way down the hall toward the front of the house. There was a fire going in the front room, and he could hear Killer walking some of the other orphans through the steps of making dinner.

Their house, too small for the fourteen of them, on the edge of town between the scrapyard and docks, was full of warmth and laughter. As Kid watched the younger children play while they waited for dinner, he thought back to that morning, to when the wood was too wet to burn and they only had rice left in the cupboard. He didn’t know how much money he’d taken from that man; he didn’t know how much Killer had gathered himself and kept stashed away for days like this. He knew Killer did the same, got into fights and stole money; he couldn’t hide his scars from Kid. But it was all so they could eat and stay warm.

After dinner, Killer surprised them with a bag of candy he’d been able to buy. A piece for each of them, almost. He passed them all out and handed the last piece to Kid as he took a seat next to him near the fire. Kid looked from the candy to Killer watching the others. He bit the sweet in half, and handed the piece to Killer. It wasn’t close to being even.

Killer hesitated before taking it, his eyes betraying his calm until he shook his bangs back in front of them. He popped the piece into his mouth, and with a pleased hum, smiled.

\-----

Kid blinked his eyes open. A cell, the cold, pain, lingering memories of happier times. His gut twisted with worry for his crew. So many of them were from the orphan family he and Killer had grown up with. That worry turned to anger and his blood boiled, returning a heat to his bones, fueled by rage. He’d raze Kaido’s base to the ground and bleed the beast into the ocean. His reputation had been built on destroying those who stood in their way or mocked them.

_ Breathe, Kid, patience. _

Killer’s voice grounded him, and he listened. He tried to remember when the last time he saw Killer smile was, the last time he laughed. As they got older, that smile had disappeared more and more until it was hidden behind a mask of steel. But they weren’t completely gone, those moments of joy. Like a hidden treasure, or a rare piece of candy, they were still there, reserved for him and their family.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it <3 Please comment and let me know what you thought  
Also, if you would like to support me as a writer, see WiPs I post and my own original content, then come say hi on [twitter](https://twitter.com/rei_the_rat)  
~ Rei the Rat


End file.
